Abbott Fay died today, peacefully, after a stroke hit him three days ago. He never wanted to get established in the medical system (he'd never had another medical emergency in his life) and he wanted to avoid outliving his ability to be comfortable with his body and his mind. We will miss him as you will, and we respect him as you do.

There will be no memorial service and no other public gathering (at his request); If anybody wants to organize a party in his honor, I'll come.

Comments

I am so sad to hear of Abbott's passing. He was a wonderful man and I am sad to just now learn of his death. Pleaese accept my condolences.

Abbott inspired me in so many ways. I wanted to tell him I'm finally writing that book he told me to 20+ years ago. I wanted him to critique my work and teach me more. And now I find out I didn't even get to tell him good bye in a timely fashion. He will be deeply missed.

In honor of Abbott and his incredible mind, I pose a question to those of you who loved and admired this man and his knowledge - Why do we allow life to take over and years to go by without talking to someone we care about or admire?

Abbot had quite an influence on my life. Didn't know he had passed away till today. I took one of his Western Civ classes in '72, talked to him in his office, couldn't follow a whole lot of what he was saying, but I had always loved history and he convinced me to change my major...then History of China and Japan, History of India, I forget what all else...a few months later, on my 21st birthday, my hair went from 18 inches long to about 1/4 inch, and I was in Abbot's program - there was no name for it that I knew of at the time, never liked the name Abbot's Rabbits (that came up later). I learned a lot from him, both in the classroom and otherwise. One of the funniest things I remember in regard to him was a Quigley Club meeting where Abbot sent a cryptic note about his not being able to attend that day, to be read to the group, and signed it A. Pheigh, and some guy who should have been smart enough to get it, just couldn't figure out who that could be. I also was involved with an Interlock series of courses that studied the ancient interaction of Greek and Hebrew cultures and how both fed into what became Christianity and Western civilization. Abbot and Dr. Ted C. "Thunderclap" Johnson in the English and drama department were my mentors and I learned a lot; unfortunately, I had to quit school and never was able to go as far into that study as I had planned. Now that I'm deeply involved in contemplative prayer/ centering prayer, a la the Trappists of Snowmass whom I first heard about from Abbot, and am studying early Christian history in depth for a book I'm writing on centering prayer, my life seems to have come full circle in some ways. Thanks, Abbot, for the tremendous part you played. Without you my life wouldn't have been the same, and wouldn't have been nearly as interesting.

Abbot had quite an influence on my life. Didn't know he had passed away till today. I took one of his Western Civ classes in '72, talked to him in his office, couldn't follow a whole lot of what he was saying, but I had always loved history and he convinced me to change my major...then History of China and Japan, History of India, I forget what all else...a few months later, on my 21st birthday, my hair went from 18 inches long to about 1/4 inch, and I was in Abbot's program - there was no name for it that I knew of at the time, never liked the name Abbot's Rabbits (that came up later). I learned a lot from him, both in the classroom and otherwise. One of the funniest things I remember in regard to him was a Quigley Club meeting where Abbot sent a cryptic note about his not being able to attend that day, to be read to the group, and signed it A. Pheigh, and some guy who should have been smart enough to get it, just couldn't figure out who that could be. I also was involved with an Interlock series of courses that studied the ancient interaction of Greek and Hebrew cultures and how both fed into what became Christianity and Western civilization. Abbot and Dr. Ted C. "Thunderclap" Johnson in the English and drama department were my mentors and I learned a lot; unfortunately, I had to quit school and never was able to go as far into that study as I had planned. Now that I'm deeply involved in contemplative prayer/ centering prayer, a la the Trappists of Snowmass whom I first heard about from Abbot, and am studying early Christian history in depth for a book I'm writing on centering prayer, my life seems to have come full circle in some ways. Thanks, Abbot, for the tremendous part you played. Without you my life wouldn't have been the same, and wouldn't have been nearly as interesting.

My name is David Smith. I'm the son of Gordon and Gloria Smith and Abbott and Joan were good life long friends of my parents going back to their Greeley Days of College. Abbott was at my parents Wedding in 1949. I remember our family being hosted by the Faye family on at least two occasions and our Family hosting the Faye family at least once at our home in Fremont, Calif. in the middle 1960's. Talk about a lifetime ago.

Abbott stopped by on other occasions when he was traveling on other business. I remember one time in the 1970's during a visit when he talked about taking the rocks from the quarry and loading the trunk of his car. When he and his students visited Washington they would quietly drop the rocks from the quarry to drive the caretakers of the monuments in DC crazy. After all, they were the same rocks as what the monuments were made out of.

My dad Gordon died in 1985. But in 1999 I had the pleasure of having breakfast with Abbott and Joan. My mom Gloria loved the conversation with old close friends from the past. We found out that the Kelly's were no longer with us.

We lost touch with Abbott and Joan a year or so after that. We thought maybe they had died. The letters came back and the phones were disconnected. My mom would have really treasured some more conversations and exchanges of letters with Joan and Abbott. My mom, Gloria Smith passed away on her 84th birthday of cancer on March 26, 2011. She was the first female student body president ever elected in the state of Colorado and she never ran for the position. She was extremely well liked and her entire class drafted her over protests of the administration without a single no vote. Loveland High, 1944. In a way it's good to know she can be reunited with old friends again and not in pain anymore. Again, I know she would have treasured more conversations with Abbott. He was a wonderful person.

I was not all that interested in history when I first showed up at Western. With the war in Viet Nam in full gear ('69-'70) and the draft an ever constant threat, college looked like a pretty good place to just hole up for awhile. Then I had the good fortune of signing up for a history class taught by professor Fay. I think it was the history of Colorado or the West. I was just looking for something easy and fun to bide my time with. WOW! For the first time in my life I was sitting at the feet of a teacher who truly loved to teach. I'm sure I completed every class he taught. The history of India, China and Japan, subjects that before meeting Abbott would have held little appeal for me I now found fascinating because he found them fascinating. His enthusiasm was contagious. Although I majored in History with a teaching minor I have yet to pursue that career path. My lifelong enjoyment of history and philosophy was firmly set by this beloved professor. I continue my life long study of history to this day. My wife and I were early pioneers in the home-schooling movement in Colorado and I am currently teaching a history class to local home-school students in Montana. Sorry Mr. Vandenbush and Professor Beck---- Abbott Fay was the best!
Steve Wagner

I posted comments earlier, but since Mr. Fay's passing I felt the need to write again.

What a great man he was. I first was in his "World Civilization" class at Mesa Junior College in the early 1960's. At Mesa, Abbott and Don MacKendrick made up an exceptional history department. When Abbott moved on to Western State College he became part of a department which included William Edmondson, Daniel Day, and Duane Vandenbesche. What can I say other than "fantastic." I loved each and every class I took.

Mr. Fay was an exceptional teacher, and his history lessons appealed to everybody who sat in his classes.

I was honored to have him choose my middle school classroom when he would teach extension classes in Delta.

I was a history teach for 35 years, returing in 2000.

I really don't know Abbott's religious beliefs, but if there is a Heaven he will be there, and will be surrounded by all those who knew and loved him, as well as those who want to learn history.

Truly, Abbott Fay will be missed. However, he leaves behind some beautiful memories.

My heartfelt condolences to Mrs. Fay and the Fay family for their loss.

Two days ago I decided to check in on Abbott Fay’s website and found the words “Abbott Fay Died....” He’s gone. I’ve spent the last two days back at Western State College. It’s 1970, I’m going to Fay’s class, walking the campus, feeling that freshness of life being new and wonderful and everything is a discovery. I would not have had that, if it hadn’t been for Abbott.

Shortly into the first quarter at Western I decided that I was going to quit. I didn’t have a focus, I was homesick, and I couldn’t see a good reason for being there. Fortunately I took ‘Development of Civilization,’ with Abbott Fay as my teacher. What a trip he was - red ties, Spartans and pop quizzes. He soon hooked my mind. History became real and exciting, not far away stories... the people of the past had substance. History came alive and was pertinent. Understanding the present comes from understanding the past. I found myself disappointed when the bell rang and class was over. As the quarter was coming to an end... I said, “Well... maybe I can last another quarter.” Soon History was my major, Abbott Fay was my Advisor, and my friend, until I graduated four years later.

I do NOT know what kind of person I would have been; what my life would have been if I had not known Abbott Fay. What a wonderful influence. My bent for Eastern philosophy, my admiration for Ghandi, the friends I made, my experiences and perceptions... all influenced by Abbott.... and I am just one person whose life he touched.

Abbott Fay is not gone. He is a part of everyone he met. The waves and ripples from the spirit of that wonderful man, through all who he gave of himself to, will go on and on forever.

Today I drove from Crested Butte to hear Abbott Fay speak on "Delta Stories" to benefit the Delta Friends of the Libary. It had been on my calendar for months. I wore a red tie. When I arrived for the event I was told Mr. Fay had died on March 12th. I so wanted to tell him that he was a GREAT teacher and an inspiration in my life. I was a history major at WSC from l964-1968. I took as many classes as possible from Professor Fay. I was part of the infamous class that demonstrated Peaceful Resistance to avoid the final exam. That he actually respected our application of the principle still is large in my mind. Professor Fay so skillfully enchanted me with the history of the east that I later spent two years travelling and studying in India, Nepal and other parts of S.E. Asia. I also realized that my true passion was Comparative Religion because of the focus of Professor Fay's classes. I studied and investigated all the world's great religions. I taught for 30 years, not history, but life science to middle school students. I always kept Abbott Fay in my vision of engaging students with the magic and the hands-on-meaning of learning. I hope I succeeded. What a great life he created for himself and how much he added to all the lives that he touched along the way. I have his books and they are carried by the Mountain Heritage Museum in Crested Butte. My sister, Mary Yaklich also attended Western State and remembers Mr. Fay with great respect and esteem. My thoughts and prayers are with the family. Sincerely, Trudy Yaklich

I met Abbott when I was in the fifth grade. He and Joan lived next door to me, and the first day my mother and I moved in, they welcomed me in with open arms and gave me the best iced tea I had ever tasted. (Made fresh with mint from their garden) Both of our families ended up moving, but we still kept in touch. I would always come to Abbott for help with history, because he always knew how to explain it in a fascinating way. Everything that came out of his mouth was admirable and caring, and definitely worth sitting and listening to. My school has been putting on some fairly decent productions but this year Abbott and Joan were the first to tell us it was the best they had seen in a long time. There is happiness in my heart knowing that My Fair Lady impressed Abbott Fay, and that I got to see him happy before he went. That man was like a grandfather to me. I loved him and I know he's probably adoring heaven.

I was employed by Mesa College in 1956; Abbott had arrived a year earlier. He was teaching philosophy, history, and journalism. He and his wife, Joan, became close fiends with my wife and me. We had great adventures with their three children and our three, including many joint holiday dinners together. Abbie and I loved to discuss every world and human event. He and I climbed Colorado mountains together. We attended together the July 4th fireworks in the Western State football stadium. He and I would stroll through the darkened streets of Gunnison talking; then stop in at an open church late at night and sitting in a back pew discussing world issue. Over the years they would visit us in Madison, Wisconsin and Decatur, Illinois; and we would come back to their homes in Paonia and Palisade Colorado. Abbie was not one to use the latest devices; he preferred to write his many books on his faithful old typewriter - and then he would hand write beautiful articulate messages to us for special occasions. We will miss our visits and telephone calls with a person who was the very best of friends. Walt

Of all the teachers I came in contact with in the Leadville school system, Abbott Fay had the most impact on my life and memories of him have frequently come back to me over the years. Although I never was a student in his class I was in the Boy Scout troop that he lead. We met in the old Methodist Church across from the 6th Street Gym before the church burned down. There were 2 Boy Scout troops in Leadville, one sponsored by the Catholic Church and the other by the Methodist Church.
Some of the most memorable hikes Abbott took us on were up Mt. Elbert and Mt. Massive. We had frequent overnight camping experiences including week long summer camps on Mr. Meredith's Crystal River property near Redstone. We had to abandon a hike to the top of Mt. Sopris when raising hair and crackling noises alerted us to an atmosphere filled with electricity.
Abbott's involvement in the lives of his Scouts was not limited to Scout activity. When he and Joan were married in Denver he included several of our Boy Scout troop in the festivities. My mother passed away when I was 15 and out of the many acts of kindness that flowed out of a loving community one of the most valuable to me was Abbot Fay coming over to our house and taking me on a long walk during which we had a conversation that brought great comfort to me.
I often thought of trying to contact Abbott over the years and of course now I regret not having done so. Some of us are too soon old and too late smart. It is really nice to know that Abbott never lost his love of teaching and his love of life.
Doug Brown, (Class of 1957, Leadville High School)
Salt Lake city, Utah

I was greatly saddened to read about the passing of Mr. Fay. I had the unique pleasure of having him as a professor at Mesa Junior College in 1960-61 and then at Western State College as a senior and graduate student. I arrived at Mesa as a clueless freshman not knowing what I wanted to do in life. It is no exaggeration to say that after only a few days in his classroom and that of his colleage, Don MacKendrick, I knew I wanted to major in history and be a teacher. Ten years ago I retired from School District #51 after a 34 year career. I know of countless others he inspired in the same way.

Please know that there are so many of us that grieve with you today. He was one of those unique individuals who gave inspiration and direction to so many lives.

If there is anything I can do during this difficult time, please let me know.

I was greatly saddened to read about the passing of Mr. Fay. I had the unique pleasure of having him as a professor at Mesa Junior College in 1960-61 and then at Western State College as a senior and graduate student. I arrived at Mesa as a clueless freshman not knowing what I wanted to do in life. It is no exaggeration to say that after only a few days in his classroom and that of his colleage, Don MacKendrick, I knew I wanted to major in history and be a teacher. Ten years ago I retired from School District #51 after a 34 year career. I know of countless others he inspired in the same way.

Please know that there are so many of us that grieve with you today. He was one of those unique individuals who gave inspiration and direction to so many lives.

If there is anything I can do during this difficult time, please let me know.

Abbott was one of my favorite professors at Western State College ('71). He was my world history professor--I'll never forget his description of the world view of one of the hundreds... of thousands of street people in Calcutta who lived in cardboard boxes with a small cooker their entire lives. He made me uneasy with his description of how that person survived day to day and how that impacted what his expectations would be of the future. He led the "Quigley Club" of very eclectic group of students who met early in the morning and took us to the Trappist monks in Aspen where he introduced me to Thomas Merton when I asked how/why these monks would live such a solitary life. His worldview and teaching style were instrumental in my traveling the world once I graduated from WSC. I joined the Peace Corp and spent 3 years in Guatemala after which I worked with innumerable organizations promoting overseas development throughout the world. After 10 years with MAP International I recently to became the Director of Development with Make a Wish Foundation International. I've never forgotten Abbott's unique style of teaching in which he asks more questions then he requires memorization of facts. I didn't realize that he was such a prolific writer and plan to purchase several of his books.

In the sad but memorable time of going through my dad's stuff, we found two books that we had forgotten all about, but at least one is extremely timely!. I thought you might like to read at least one of these, so I scanned both and they're here for download in PDF form.

The first book, Getting Rich in a Financial Depression, was self-published in 1979, when Dad was convinced that the big one was immediately on its way. It's loads of fun to read, and so pertinent to today. We think he waited all his life for the big one to hit, and finally checked out when he had convinced it had come. But his book was 30 years early, maybe. We seem to remember that his intent was to sell it through magazine ads, and it didn't make him rich after all. The significant leftover stock was surreptitiously left in a dumpster somewhere in the midwest.

The second book, Writing Good History Research Papers was a distillation of all the things he wanted to tell his students about that subject. It will be interesting to students who had to follow all his rules, but might not be palatable to the majority.

There’s the sense in the valley, and the world, that thanks to Al Gore and several thousand climate scientists we are finally waking up to the realization that the world has some energy problems. But the recent death of former Western history professor Abbott Fay reminded me again that we have really known about this situation for more than thirty years, and that Western State College students, with guidance from Professor Fay, made a valiant effort in the 1977-78 school year to awaken not just the valley but the whole nation to the emerging energy crisis.
That was Western’s National Energy Conservation Challenge (NECC): a handful of Western students – from the college in the place often “celebrated” as coldest on the continent – challenged every college and university in the United States to try to conserve more energy than Western would conserve during the 1977-78 school year. Through the fall and winter of that year, 181 institutions, from the Universities of Wisconsin and New Hampshire to the Universities of Southern Mississippi and Southern Louisiana, embraced the challenge to one degree or another. And probably none of them had more plain fun doing it than the participating students at Western.
Context is important. In the mid-1970s, America’s oil production peaked and went into its ongoing irreversible decline (even if we do ANWR, offshore drilling and shale oil), the oil-producing countries of the Middle East and elsewhere formed OPEC, and the price of gasoline doubled and redoubled several times.
For Abbott Fay, it was what educators call a “teaching moment.” As a historian he had authored “Mountain Academia,” a history of the college up to 1960 – “a history of experiences and emotions rather than a chronological account of occurrences,” in his words, and he went on to say that “what was to happen in the next half century (which we are just completing) would be the true measure” of the college and its “wisdom or folly.” He believed that jumping on the emerging energy situation was a positive way for the college to take a leadership role in helping the nation move in an important new direction.
But he was a teacher first, and approached the task by raising student awareness and inspiration. He told a “Top O’the World” reporter in April 1977, “I want the students to be able to use this when they leave the college. Instead of talking about what they are going to do, I want them to have done something.” This is an “experiential learning” model more at home in today’s Environmental Studies program at Western than it was in the 1970s when the college was still playing “in loco parentis” and having bed check for co-eds.
NECC emerged in the fall semester of 1977 as a creative mix of the sensible, outrageous and downright silly. The students got Governor Richard Lamm to come speak at their opening rally; later in the year they organized an Energy Seminar that brought speakers like population growth analyst Albert Bartlett from the University of Colorado; a Mobil Oil executive who said – in 1978! – that, much as he loved oil, solar energy was going to be the way of the future; Dr. Jerry Kowal, still at Western, on ways to get real about energy efficiency at home; and a lawyer and a legislator from Colorado advocating a General Assembly bill affirming an individuals’ property right to access to sunlight.
But NECC also had an “Absurdity Committee” that probably did more to get the college on the national map than anything before or since. Underwear were frequently featured in the “Top” that year – long underwear. NECC hosted a “Human Powered Dance” in February 1978 that featured a “Long Johns and Sweaters Fashion Show” and creative attempts to produce enough electricity to power a rock band. A playground merry-go-round that required six pushers was hitched to a generator that was supposed to crank out the kilowatt of electricty the band needed, while another six people rode bicycles in shifts to power the lights for the dance. The bicycles worked; the merry-go-round didn’t and the band had to plug in. But the fashion show was a success.
Two NECC students tried to address the affordable-energy-and-housing problem by wintering in a tipi pitched in front of Quigley Hall, through what turned out to be typically rough Gunnison winter. They prevailed, although they lamented “the long dash to the Quigley bathrooms.”
Predictably, these shenanigans got state and even national (CBS) television coverage while the serious events didn’t; even radio commentator Paul Harvey picked up on a NECC idea involving roosters for alarm clocks, and something about “Buckminster Beaver” that never did get properly explained in the “Top.”
Did NECC achieve its goal? The short answer is “no”. Western got off to a good start in 1977, reducing campus energy consumption from the previous year by 20 percent in August and September, but after that they were hampered by the fact that it was a much rougher winter than 1976-77 had been, and ended up in pretty much a wash – probably a modest victory considering the weather.
Worse, probably no more than 10 percent of the student body had really gotten involved in the process of consciousness-raising; most remained typically impervious to the challenge. A “Top” story checking in with some of the major universities that had accepted the challenge found similar problems with involvement.
Basically, NECC was ahead of the times – along with President Jimmy Carter, and Professor Abbott Fay – a Western figure worth remembering, along with Western’s National Energy Conservation Challenge of 1977-78, which set an early benchmark at the college for creative investment in a future we are just now getting back to.
***
- from George Sibley, longtime friend and admirer of Abbott

I stumbled into Abbott's philosophy 100 course at Mesa Junior College in Grand Junction, which had about 425 students. None of us knew what "philosophy" was, since it's not offered in high schools. Abbott was a historian, and didn't know too much about philosophy, but was assigned the course. Abbott was the greatest "natural" teacher I have ever known. He posed philosophical questions and issues that had us climbing over the desks in vigorous debates. It was the luckiest day of my life and started a transformation from naive football "jock" to a lifetime of philosophy and a career of 35 years as a philosophy professor at the University of Southern Colorado. We kept up with each other over the years. Along with his multi-talented and amazing wife Joan, he changed thousands of lives for the better. Humorous, quizzical, eccentric (like the rest of us), eclectic, opinionated, caring, fun, worldly, endlessly curious, unstoppable even after "retirement", he was simply astounding. For so many of us, he was mentor, model, and icon. Larimore ("Larry" "Nick") Nicholl

I was a student of yours in the early 1970's, you will always be Mr. Fay to your face and Abbott in all other cases. I wanted to cut off your red tie on the days you wore them, I hated those ties. I took all three Developement of Civilization, Colorado History and a self-study Philosophy class from you. I had to write my first term paper for you. I always wanted to get an A in your class and only got B's. I did a self-discipline program with you for one quarter. It was one of the best things I did as a student.

You were a support to me when I wrote my first paper for you. My first ever. It was only three pages long and that opening sentence was hell but with your help I got it done.

I also got into a little trouble with some members of my history class being in my dorm room studying when they shouldn't have been and you helped me out. I don't know if I ever thanked you for that or if that is even something you would remember, but I do and it still means alot that you stood up for me.

I learned more from you than just history or philosophy. I learned about thinking and being able to support my beliefs. I learned to always be a student, maybe not your ideal student, but one who likes to examine and learn new things. I learned that what I get out is what I put in.

I enjoyed our disagreements in my journal and your comments written in my blue books. I liked knowing the answers on tests. I always enjoyed your class. You are one of the best things about my time at Western. Thank you.

Comments

You were my professor in the fall and spring of 1975, for classes of Western and Eastern Philosophy. Little did I know what was in store when my roommate at the time was enrolled in another one of your other classes. The class was studying dictatorships, and you had "guards" standing in the front of class to help students get a feel for "tyranny". My roommate staged a "coup" by absconding with some important class papers and then using them for extortion. He demanded that you declare him an anonymous "Liberator" for the fellow students, as well as to cease giving tests, etc. Even as you "winked" at the "overthrow" of your "rule"-- you gradually undermined the class' excitement about the Liberator's true intentions--that the Liberator, whoever it might be, was only out for themselves--and so you ultimately created a class uproar against the Liberator, leading to the return of your "rule". My roommate and the class learned a bigger lesson than could have ever been read out of books.

During a break in the "negotiations" at our college apartment, you also answered questions about your discipline program, which was independent of your other classes, and I was soon enrolled. For 10 weeks I learned about "fa" and "li" disciplines--externally vs. internally imposed disciplines--and I think of this time as a rite of passage. My life turned from reactively drifting to proactively focussed, and I learned about self-respect, self-responsibility, humility and genuine love for others and myself.

I've carried those lessons since that time--that self-identity doesn't reside in appearance, and that each of us have unique gifts to develop and offer to the greater world. THANK YOU Professor Fay--through your teaching and example, you made a profound difference in my life, which has continued to ripple outwards.